


When The World Falls

by catlikeacat



Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5
Genre: Attempted Murder, Bad Guys Win AU, Dark, F/F, Judith Redfox, Priestess Judith AU, Suicidal Thoughts, Unreliable POV Character
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-01-26 03:17:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21367297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catlikeacat/pseuds/catlikeacat
Summary: Everything about the woman was off, like she didn’t belong here.She didn’t even seem to be affected by the constant wind, whipping every loose bit of clothing and hair around Judith like a goddamn tornado. Blonde hair too perfectly framing her face, blue eyes placid, smile serene, ankle length white dress somehow not flailing up and over her head.Sickening curiosity twisted inside Judith, answering a question with a question, “Who are you?”Tilting her head, she answered.“My name is Faith.”
Relationships: Female Deputy | Judge/Faith Seed
Comments: 14
Kudos: 66





	1. Help Me Faith

**Author's Note:**

> (walks in ten minutes late with a Starbucks) hey y'all want another judith/faith story from out of the blue? yeah you do
> 
> If you've read A Test Of Faith this one is peak opposite energy and entirely about Judith joining the cult when she's younger instead of becoming a deputy and trying to stop the Peggies. It's still dark because I don't think you can write an in-universe Seed/Deputy fic without that but the darkness all comes in the form of "Judith helping the murder cult be better at doing that."
> 
> It's quite a bit shorter and is a bit snapshot-y. Lightly covers the time period of 4 years before the start of Far Cry 5 but jumps forward a bit, no more than two chapters at a time being sequential.

Wind whipped Judith’s hair around haphazardly as she stared down the cliff with an empty resolve that she’d yet to realize.

She wasn’t entirely sure how long she’d been standing here, she barely remembered even getting here. The dead silent car ride had stretched on for hours and hours. Nightfall, sunrise, nightfall, sunrise. Waiting on that second nightfall seemed endless. Everything seemed endless.

Except this fall. That was pretty endful, given the darkly stained rocks looming below.

Seems like she wasn’t the only one with that same idea burrowed into her brain.

Judith idly wondered what had brought them here.

But the only one she knew about was herself.

Been trouble all her life but the last thing Judith could have imagined was her family giving up on her. Completely. Kicking her out of the house with nothing but whatever she could fit in a backpack or crammed into her pockets.

Which hadn’t been much. Mostly just some money, some clothes. Not even giving her enough time to put some stuff in her beat up old car.

Judith’d never had to live on her own, never even had to have her own proper, paying job. Her amenities paid for by her parents in return for her working on the ranch. Doing stuff that her parents were too old to do, her brother couldn’t do alone, and her sister wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole.

And why was she ejected? Not wanting to play house with a nearby rancher’s son. God forbid she want more from life than “bargaining chip to expand the family business.”

So she was out. Completely. Entirely.

She’d pulled her weight for twenty-two years and this is what she got in return.

Some dark part of her debated what would make her happier. Her parents never knowing what happened to her or them getting a solemn visit from the County Police. Hat in hand, telling them of the tragic fate of their daughter.

Man, what county was she even in? She’d seen a sign as she drove but she couldn’t remember. All she knew was her aimless drive had taken her deep, deep into middle of nowhere Montana. Hadn’t seen anything but farms and abandoned buildings for miles. Stopping only to get gas at a small town tucked in the middle.

And a drink. Yeah she shouldn’t be doing that while driving but at this point, who cares? Not like she’s seen another car on the road, only be a danger to herself.

The pretty blonde lady behind the bar had been reluctant to give it to her, only relenting at the false promise that she wasn’t going anywhere for a long while. The woman trying to sell her on a room upstairs, blue eyes looking at her with a sad pity that disgusted Judith beyond all measure.

Always did hate being pitied.

The preacher’d done that too.

Now his name she’s remembered. Pastor Jerome, as he’d introduced himself. Watched her head right back to her car after her drink and had doubled down on what blondie’d said. The gentle hand on her arm had only made her walk faster.

Judith wasn’t sure what about this place had drawn her, maybe just how high it was off the ground. It wasn’t as abandoned as she could have gone. The ghost of a construction site rising up behind her. No workers now but surely they’d come back eventually.

Maybe she did want her parents to know what she was about to do then.

Wasn’t the worst place to go though. Nice view, although the whole place seemed to have this odd green fog wafting off of it. Whatever it was was probably bad for her lungs but considering she had about five minutes left to live that didn’t really matter.

Was making her head swim though. Wasn’t crazy about that.

Closing her eyes, Judith knew all she had to do was take one step forward and it was all over.

Breathing in deep, she started to lean into it. Foot off the ground as suddenly-

“What are you doing?”

There wasn’t a single note of panic in the unfamiliar female voice, not even a judgement. A genuine question, as if this situation wasn’t the most obvious thing on the planet. What the hell else are you doing standing at the edge of a cliff with your eyes closed?

It succeeded in one thing though. Judith settling back on the firm ground, opening her eyes, and turning around to see exactly who was asking her such a dumb ass question.

Everything about the woman was off, like she didn’t belong here.

She didn’t even seem to be affected by the constant wind, whipping every loose bit of clothing and hair around Judith like a goddamn tornado. Blonde hair too perfectly framing her face, blue eyes placid, smile serene, ankle length white dress somehow not flailing up and over her head.

Sickening curiosity twisted inside Judith, answering a question with a question, “Who are you?”

Tilting her head, she answered.

“My name is Faith.”


	2. Now He’s Our Father

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We jump forwards in the timeline in snapshots after this chapter, which is kinda newish for me! But I wanted to get all the introductions done in one go and establish how Judith feels about each Seed.

The feeling of nothing being real continued as this “Faith” approached her. Judith wasn’t even entirely sure what the woman had said to her, only having a foggy memory of both her calloused hands gripped tightly in neatly manicured ones. Thumbs rubbing across her knuckles like the woman had known her all their lives.

Well, seeing that. She hadn’t… felt it, that warm feeling of flesh on flesh. Like a ghost playing over her skin.

Blue eyes staring deeply into her own deep brown ones as she spoke, not letting her question it. An odd call and response, shockingly unrelated to the act Judith’d been seconds from committing.

Small talk, as if Judith hadn’t been standing at a cliff’s edge and staring down the barrel of death.

Who she was. Where she was from. What was she doing tonight.

The last question downright absurd considering the circumstance, Judith dumbly responding a flat “I don’t know” before being tugged back towards her own car. Stumbling after her, noticing the woman had, for some godforsaken reason, not worn shoes. Driving, following the directions as Faith pointed them out. Twisting back towards the way she’d come.

For a second Judith’d thought Faith was leading her back towards town, some weird little church girl trying to take her back towards that kind, sad eyed Pastor but they hooked right.

As the large ranch loomed in the distance, Faith pointed it out.

Now that was the home of one rich bastard. What the hell kind of person was this Faith?

The way Faith’d almost drifted ahead, beckoning, made Judith pause. Just outside her car, hand on the still warm hood. Anchoring her to this place as something deep, deep in her gut told her to run.

But a bell-like giggle broke that. Faith suddenly too close, too fast. Judith felt her this time, sharp little hands digging into her bicep. Head leaning on her shoulder as Faith gazed up at her. Nearly contorted to do this, the woman noticeably taller than her.

“Come on, the Father’s just inside.”

The Father. Right. Faith’d said something about that in that foggy mist up on the cliffside. Somehow Judith’d filtered it right out in the moment. Dug it into the back of her mind for later. Certainly not going to be the Pastor she’d met before but almost certainly going to be a man of God.

Suddenly Judith’s stunning lack of knowledge about Christianity reared its head, certain she was about to make an ass out of herself in front of this man.

She contemplated running but they were approaching the doors of the ranch fast.

Judith suddenly noticed the… guards? Were they guards? Milling about in the afternoon sun. Must be, each had a handgun strapped to their side and a cross emblazoned on their uniforms. Combat boots stomping through the green mist.

Where had they come from? She hadn’t seen them driving up, the place had been pristine and perfect. Serene, even.

Then again, she didn’t even know where this dusty green was coming from.

Judith didn’t have time to question it as Faith pulled a key out of her pocket and unlocked the front door. Swinging it wide as they stepped into the sizeable sitting room, decorated with the same weird crosses and dead animals. Both things that Judith obviously found very comforting and not at all ominous and threatening.

Faith seemed oblivious to her discomfort, continuing to drag her deeper in. Towards a man sitting at the table, frantically writing something down like he was afraid he’d forget before he could put it down on paper.

Next to her, Faith waited patiently for him to stop.

Given no other choices, Judith did as well.

She took the pause to examine the man. His clothes told her that her previous assumptions were correct, he was definitely a priest. An unorthodox one given his unusual clothes but one nonetheless. His hair was honestly pretty greasy and tied up in a bun. Glasses hooked around his ears, possibly sunglasses? Yellow tinted all the same.

Abruptly, he stopped. Going perfectly placid and calm as he suddenly placed the royal blue pen on the desk. ‘JS’ glinting on it in gold script.

Standing and turning, he towered a bit over Judith and looked down at her with the most uncomfortably piercingly, knowing look she’d ever been subjected to. His voice was calm but in no way comforting, “Faith told me she’d found a lost sheep, wandering around in the wilds.”

How had Faith told him anything? She’d been with Judith the entire time.

Then again, she was absolutely out of it. Eyes swearing the world was tinted green, maybe poisoned by the adrenaline leaving her system. The calm of survival distorting her world.

Maybe Faith had called Joseph on the way over.

She must have.

Even through her confused haze, Judith managed to crack a confused joke, “Always been more of a fox than a sheep.”

He didn’t ask, just tilted his head.

“My, uh, last name is Redfox,” Judith explained, “Sorry, there’s no way you could have known that.”

The man didn’t laugh but Faith did, her voice sounding like it came from another room but the strong grip on her upper arm meant the woman hadn’t laughed.

“Judith Redfox,” he continued staring at her vacantly, “Interesting name.”

“This is the Father,” Faith answered the question in Judith’s head that the man clearly wasn’t going to do himself, “My brother, Joseph Seed.”

A half baked joke about the familial terms bounced aimlessly around Judith’s head, unable to land.

What was… what was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she focus?

It took her a second to notice the fact Joseph was holding his hands out expectantly. Unsure of why until Faith grabbed hers and handed them over. Judith admittedly not the biggest fan of the strange man tightly gripping her hands and staring invasively into her eyes.

“Come with me.”

Joseph led her away from Faith, an action which left Judith feeling like she’d been thrown into the ocean. Her life ring ripped out of her hands.

The other room was smaller but no less nice, a small library. Golden tinted tomes lining the walls, a peek at them revealed them to be mostly books on law. Some on aviation. A few that appeared to be about fashion.

A single tome was between them, white with a glistening cross embossed on the cover.

Joseph wasn’t preoccupied with the books though, waiting for Judith to settle down and look at him before he started.

Her dazed look didn’t deter him as he told her about him, about his ministry. Tying bits and pieces of a miserable life to the work he was trying to accomplish in Hope County.

Hope County. So that’s where she was.

Despite not being able to connect in the way Joseph so obviously wanted Judith couldn’t help but be at least minorly enraptured. Man was well-spoken and as she grew used to the weird, intense gaze she found it a bit less unnerving. The unwavering genuineness in it making Judith feel like the man could get anyone to believe anything.

Well, perhaps, not someone as stubborn as her. Admittedly, the religious preaching not doing much for her. His talk of The Voice something she couldn’t connect to. Never was a spiritual woman.

But his conviction. Judith could understand that, could follow that.

Thankfully, Joseph didn’t expect any answers from her.

At least not now.

Passively she let herself be lead back out where he gave her one last statement, “You’re home.”

Tilting forward, he placed his forehead on Judith’s.

Dazed, Judith just stood there as he pulled away and addressed Faith. Something about addressing the congregation tonight, his sermon incomplete. Wanting Judith to be there, to witness his word. Faith’s attention rapt as she nodded along eagerly. Bright eyes flicking back towards Judith like they were sharing a secret.

Just as he had with her, he leaned over and pressed his forehead against hers before gathering up the writing on the table and retreating back towards the little library. Already lost again in his deep thoughts. Gone to them.

As Joseph left, Judith could have sworn the greenish hue disappeared. Her mind rushing back to her, shaking her head, feeling like the last hour or so wasn’t real. Wondering how she’d gotten here even though she knew the answer.

Faith pranced over and once again Judith’s hands were grabbing, this time she was quite a bit less put off by it. Much happier to be holding the hands of a pretty girl rather than a slightly unnerving man.

“How are you feeling?” Faith asked, like the answer was anything other than confused.

“A little… overwhelmed.”

She liked that answer though, smile sparkling, “The Father has that effect on people. But we have his blessing. It’s not often that I bring people back hand personally so I’m not surprised. Do you want to go and see our room?”

Our room. That sunk into Judith’s frazzled mind. You’re home, was she staying here? Staying with Faith?

What kind of a family had she been dragged into?

“Your room?” a new voice sung, confident and theatrical, “Why Faith, exactly why did you bring this poor girl back here?”

Turning her head, Judith realized that at some point a third person had appeared. Hell, maybe he’d been there the entire time like the guards had been. Judith not quite trusting her own eyes or brain right now.

She didn’t need to be told that this new man was another brother.

Lazily lounging on the couch, one of the law books hanging from one hand and a glass of wine in the other.

Unmistakably he looked like Joseph. Younger, more fashionable, but related nonetheless. The older brother’s calm, piercing eyes replaced by sharp, devilish ones. Exposed forearms coated in dozens of little black tattoos. What was visible of his chest had an odd scar peeking through blue silk.

This brother was trouble, Judith didn’t need to be told that either.

“John,” Faith admonished, trying and failing not to look amused, “What sins are swimming around in your head?”

A brother Faith was no less fond of, apparently. Albeit a much different relationship. Equals, none of that reverent, untouchable respect.

“You’re the one finding a ‘lost little lamb’ and dragging her to my home,” John gestured broadly to the large ranch, “I thought Jacob was supposed to be the wolf. Is the bunny bouncing right out of her territory?”

“So you’ve assigned us animals now? Praytell, what are you then?”

“Well normally I’d say a fox but somehow your lamb is that as well.”

So he’d heard her say that. Was he always sitting there then? Lurking in the shadows?

Judith didn’t like being a passive party, spoken about right in front of her, “More than one fox in the henhouse, sometimes.”

Oh, he liked that. Eyes sparkling, “A couple of foxes then.”

Faith coiled around Judith’s arm protectively, gazing down at her affectionately, “Before John says something that embarasses himself, let me go and show you. Come on.”

Her tugging at Judith’s arm grew more and more insistent, all but dragging the woman towards the other side of the ranch. Away from John, opposite of where Joseph had disappeared to. Looping around the fireplace cutting the room in half.

Judith didn’t know what was ahead of her, how she’d even ended up here, who Faith was, who this family was, what was going to become of her.

But somehow it didn’t stop her from following.

An unusual obedience from a usually defiant woman.

Judith couldn’t help but wonder what had done this, why was she so compliant? What had been knocked free in her brain? Was it some kind of weird effect of being stopped at such a pivotal point? Elation of survival making her feel indebted to Faith?

How had she gone from the precipice of death to this?

From being abandoned to being found?

All she knew was Faith was an anchor now, for better or for worse.

Maybe this isn’t so bad though. Her family’s abandoned her and nothing about the Seeds was a dealbreaker for Judith. She could easily tolerate some overzealous piety. Each one was odd, that was not a question, but in ways Judith could appreciate.

Especially Faith. Never was someone who could make a sound decision with a pretty girl latched onto her.

But who was she? Who is Faith?

Judith supposed she was about to find out.

This could be okay.

Just as they reached the door to the other side, it swung open sharply. Jumping back just in time to avoid being hit, Judith pulled Faith out of the path of the door.

Her hopefulness cut short, Judith insulting the perpetrator before she could stop herself, “Watch where you’re fucking going, asshole.”

Judith would not have guessed the third man a brother if not for the ‘J. Seed’ patch on his dirty army jacket. Odd, gnarled scarring across his face and snaked down his arm. His scraggly red hair starkly different from the other brother’s dark brown and Faith’s blonde.

Everything about him screaming “antisocial mountain man.”

His stare condescending and mean.

Immediately, Judith knew that her and Jacob would never get along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there isn't a single universe wherein judith isn't absolutely ready to fight jacob in a denny's parking lot


	3. Let The Water Wash Away Your Sins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright first of the little time jumps, this fic is kind of experimental for me with it having more snapshots of time than a continuous story.
> 
> I think this is the first time I've ever written a chapter with no dialogue, I'm really trying to do some new stuff and see what sticks.

That night felt eons away. A half year later Judith could still remember that night vividly.

Especially afterwards, with Faith.

Until the sun had risen, the two of them had talked and talked. Lying next to each other, holding hands and staring up at the wooden ceiling. Judith in borrowed pajamas that didn’t quite fit. Muscular shoulders straining against the t-shirt but Faith certainly wasn’t complaining.

While their chat on the cliffside had been deeply impersonal this one hadn’t been.

Faith had told her damn near everything.

All of it punctuated by her shyly crawling forward, just a bit, and resting her head on Judith’s shoulder.

Eyes closed with a whisper of, “I’m glad I found you.”

\- - -

Integrating into the Seed family came abnormally natural for Judith.

No words were ever exchanged about it but Judith knew that instantly Faith had become hers. The fastest transition from “complete stranger” to “girlfriend” that Judith had ever experienced. A single night.

Hell, more than that. Having a girlfriend she lives with in just a few hours.

And her brothers.

Judith found her first impressions were largely correct.

Joseph was strange but a good confidant once you got past the odd, invasive stares. Intense, protective. He always seemed to have an answer for anything that troubled her. Never would she admit it but she didn’t get his religious angle but she was willing to play along. It made him happy and even more importantly it made Faith happy.

John was trouble, as predicted. But he was so very, very fun. Easily Judith’s favorite brother and secretly Faith’s too. A friend from an unusual place but he wasn’t the first partner’s sibling she’d gotten along with.

Jacob… now he was the one snag. Their relations had not improved one bit since that first night. Judith was confident it never would. Thankfully Jacob was so much more scarce than the other two. Always off doing something mysterious up by the Veterans’ Center. The only one not living in Seed Ranch, to her relief.

But he was here, now. Judith feeling the most vulnerable she’d ever felt in a long, long time.

Standing at the edge of the water, long, long white dress drifting in the water.

Judith couldn’t remember the last time she’d worn a dress, let alone a pure white one like this. Flimsy fabric making her feel naked. The congregations’ many eyes on her making her want to run away, deep into the forest where no one would ever find her. Knowing she couldn’t.

As far as she was concerned, Judith felt she’d done a pretty damn good job of playing the part of a good little faux-Christian girl. Pretending she bought it. Not yelling obscenities. At least, not around Joseph.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise that they wanted to baptise her but it had left Judith staring at him like he was a two-headed alien when he asked her.

Awkwardly saying yes, the spoonful of corn flakes still halfway to her mouth.

What else was she supposed to say?

Man, exactly how many people were in this church? Never seemed like this much anytime before. Hell, their picnics felt a little sparse.

But looking out at Joseph reaching out a hand to her made Judith feel like she was standing in a goddamn amphitheatre, crowd murmuring in anticipation for her to complete the ring. Join the rest of the Seed family out in the water.

Joseph had said he wanted all of them to be there.

Have the blessing of the four of them.

All four.

Judith had to admit she wasn’t the craziest about this for so many reasons, including the fact she just avoids any and all physical contact with Jacob, but who was she to go against what Joseph wants? Especially something so ultimately harmless.

So in she stepped. Cold water rising up her legs, over her torso, nearly up to her shoulders as she walked in deeper and deeper to meet the extended hand.

With a firm grasp, Joseph pulled her over.

Faith grabbed her other hand tightly as they closed the circle. Imitating them and dropped her head as Joseph began his prayer, grip growing tighter and tighter, just shy of painful until he reached the end. Released as quickly as she’d been confined.

But that was far from the bad part about this.

Closeness with Joseph was something she’d grown used to but she wasn’t enjoying being lowered backwards into the frigid water of the early morning Henbane was an understatement. Racing water slowly enveloping her until she was completely submerged. Eyes tightly closed, a hand instinctively balled into Joseph’s shirt sleeve.

It felt like it went on forever but just as the edge of needing to breathe started creeping in she was pulled back up with a gasp of air. Perfectly timed.

Didn’t stop her from being dazed though, not catching a word Joseph was proclaiming as much to the congregation as to her as she pushed towards John next.

This dunking was sudden, rough. A sharp shock to her system as she nearly tossed in the water, down there for barely a second, and ripped back up. Seeing the enraged, deeply unamused face of Joseph before hearing that strangled back-of-the-throat noise John made when he thought something was desperately hilarious but couldn’t show it.

Judith caught his eyes for only a second, twinkling with mirth at the joke which would most certainly land him in a lecture when they got home.

Never did learn. Maybe one day. Not today.

The wet slap of a pat on the back made a small wave of muffled laughter sweep over their audience as John handed her over to Jacob.

Rough, calloused hands latched onto her. Judith didn’t let herself flinch at the crushingly tight grip digging painfully into her wrist. He wanted her to react, to cry out in pain but Judith’d bite her own tongue out before giving Jacob an inch.

Always testing the boundaries, silently.

Still she refused to look at him. Looking past him, to Faith. In the water she looked somehow even more ethereal in the water, like a mermaid drifting curiously just at the edge of their group. Her own white dress drifting elegantly around her like a jellyfish with a mind of its own. Long hair just reaching the water, moving just so slightly.

Her own personal siren, singing a song to send her crashing against the rocks.

Really and truly, she looked beautiful.

Breathtaking.

Literally.

Again, Judith was quickly shoved back into the water without a gasp of air. But where John’s had been sharp and brief, pulling her quickly back up to breathe this time…

Jacob didn’t. Judith’s eyes opening underwater to look up at his cold, emotionless face as he held her under. The shock of no air filling her lungs taking a second to sink in, every moment driving that knife in deeper as she felt time pass impossibly slow.

Longer than John. Longer than Joseph.

Jacob just held her there, paralyzed in shock.

She woke up.

The sudden thrashing only made Jacob’s brows knit, her struggle barely visible from the surface of the tumultuous water but surely they must, he can’t, they wouldn’t let him, why is he, how can-

Judith watched sharp manicured nails suddenly dig sharply into Jacob’s arms, just slow enough that it wouldn’t cause a commotion. Not be visible from the shore. Why? Why wouldn’t Faith let them know? Tell Joseph, he’ll stop- it’ll stop-

Sharp nails drew blood, the smallest amount, barely visible before the river washed it away.

The world was going dark, black creeping around the edges as her struggling weakened.

Was that going to be the last thing she ever saw?

Jerked back up, Judith coughed violently and fell forward. She could hear Joseph, his tone so barely changed. An uncharacteristic panic just barely clawing at the ends, nothing nobody would notice.

But he was just continuing the ceremony like that hadn’t just happened.

Make them notice, Joseph. Why are you-

Judith realized exactly how she’d made it backup to the surface. The numbness wearing off enough for her to feel the tattooed hands clamped into her shoulders. John’s eyes still bright and shiny but in a pointed glare threatening to burrow into Jacob’s skull.

He didn’t care. Didn’t let his eyes drop for a second. Looking out at the crowd as in none of that just happened.

All Judith wanted to do was scream but all she could do was cough up more water as Jacob roughly pushed her away. Faith catching her, not seeing Judith looking up with pleading eyes. Too busy glaring down an uncaring Jacob who stared stony faced towards the crowd. Challenging them, a single one, to acknowledge what he’d done.

No one was. The congregation wasn’t, Joseph wasn’t, John wasn’t, even… even Faith wasn’t.

Judith was incredulous as she felt Faith carefully slide her arms around her.

Blindly following Joseph’s instructions.

Lowering her into the water one last time.


	4. Build A Castle

Another half year passed.

Some nights, Judith still wakes up in a cold sweat. Waking up feeling the frigid water racing over her, breath leaving her lungs, eyes wide open as the world goes black.

Every time she looks over, Faith curled up tightly against her side and dozing without a care in the world.

She said it was an accident.

They all said it was an accident.

Judith had vacantly nodded along in a daze as Faith whispered it lovingly to her, gently ushering her towards shore but somewhere deep within her knew the truth.

It wasn’t an accident.

\- - -

Looking out at the lake, Judith had to admit that Joseph picked out a hell of a spot for their first church. Be nice to no longer be crammed into the emptied hangar with hundreds of people spilling out the doors, hot and sweaty, Joseph yelling from the floor above them.

Judith had to admit she wasn’t a fan of building it though. Cursing herself for letting herself get out of shape, embarrassed that manual labor was even vaguely winding her.

Getting soft, gonna have to start working out again. Get out of the house more.

Or finally convince John to turn Seed Ranch into a proper one, she certainly had the experience for it.

As of right now all she really did were walks down the Henbane, hand-in-hand with Faith. But she was slow, swinging the shared arm, occasionally singing over the echoing water. Judith was a terrible singer but Faith never seemed to mind. Her blinding smile cracking wide open every time the woman joined her, no matter how many sour notes she hit.

Shaking her head, Judith went back to sawing away harder.

She knew Faith would be watching.

Judith always felt those blue eyes watching her. The gaze’s meaning constantly shifting but omnipresent as her every move was examined. Adoring, curious, critical. A kaleidoscope of judgement where she always seemed to come out on top.

Heh, well not always on top.

If Joseph could hear her thoughts he would chastise her for thinking such dirty thoughts while helping build a church. Maybe he would be right to do so.

He couldn’t, but it always seemed like Faith could.

A second later the woman was upon her, happily draping across Judith’s shoulder and rubbing against her like a cat. A remarkable show of affection in the face of her being sweaty and disgusting right now. Even going as far as to plant a kiss on the side of her head, nestled into the damp hair.

“You know I’m kinda gross right now, right? Not complaining. Just saying.”

“I don’t mind,” Faith brushed her concerns off, lacing her fingers together and halting Judith’s work, “We can jump in the river afterwards, just the two of us.”

“Be hard to give your brothers the slip was out here, this ain’t a church you can easily run away from,” Judith gestured out to the surrounding water, “Gotta head somewhere else, right?”

“Who would ever run AWAY from a church?” Faith giggled, “Surely it would be end of days then?”

“Well hopefully those are far away,” Judith looked up at Joseph, the man already shirtless as he pounded in nails as he worked on the framework. Thinking of his somewhat doomsday-ish sermons, growing more and more frequently lately.

There was the sound of a car rolling up, the first since the materials had been hauled to the site. Faith sliding off of Judith, arm still around her waist, as the looked towards the source.

Judith recognized the man, Pastor Jerome no longer a strange mystery man of God in an unknown small town.

She’d, of course, become privy to his and Joseph’s contentious history.

Like a wave, everyone from their church turned on their heels and glared him down. The man still serene as he walked among them. Even as Faith’s fingers unconsciously dug into Judith’s arm, the woman had to admit she didn’t get the big fuss.

Perhaps Jerome was simply looking to bury the hatchet, have some interfaith peacetalks.

I mean, that’s what they do in the liberal areas, right?

But this wasn’t SoCal, this was the dead center of rural ass Montana.

From a distance the two women watched, Judith sliding a hand over Faith’s as the calm confrontation confolded.

While it was obvious Pastor Jerome didn’t bear an olive branch, he wasn’t out for blood either.

Both men stayed calm although Judith could see the swirling storm behind Joseph’s eyes even from a distance. One could easily take his calm stares as nothing but that but she’d long grown used to reading the man’s moods.

And right now? He was livid.

It didn’t last more than five minutes before the conversation ground to a halt. John and Jacob slowly coming to his sides, flanking him. Blatant intimidation. Jerome wasn’t a small man but Joseph was tall himself and Jacob easily twice the man’s size. And John…

Well, as fond as Judith had grown of John, there was something that just wasn’t quite right behind the man’s eyes.

It made the cordless drill hanging from his hand, half hidden behind his back, quite intimidating.

Pastor Jerome took the message. Giving one last sign of goodwill as he reached out a hand to shake Joseph’s.

It hung in the air for a few seconds too long before he shook his head and retracted it.

Judith hadn’t realized how tight Faith’s grip on her had gotten, pulling her closer against her side with a soft peck on the cheek, “Calm down, you’re gonna give yourself a heart attack.”

Faith’s grip loosened as she nuzzled her head in.

Noting this as he passed, Jerome’s expression was inscrutable.

When he drove away, Faith pressed a kiss against Judith’s head again, “I’m going to go talk to Joseph about that real quick, see what happened.”

Patting her lower back, Judith nodded, “I’ll get back to work, make sure things are okay. Report back, alright?”

Faith winked with a playful salute before skipping off, quite literally.

Leaning over again, Judith set about her work again.

But she wasn’t allowed to for long.

The sound of a drill whirring loudly by her ear made Judith jump back, instinctual fear kicking in.

But it just made John laugh, pressing in the trigger again for another sharp whirr as he jabbed it at her a few more times. Enough that she had to dodge at least a little bit to avoid it shredding her soaked shirt.

“Hey Judy,” John quipped, knowing how Judith hated nicknames, “How long do you think it would take to drill through someone’s skull?”

“Who the hell let you have a power tool, Dahmer?” Judith easily snatched it out of his hands, shaking it at him.

“Jacob wasn’t looking,” was his only answer, making a grab for it again, “So, it’s mine.”

Judith pulled it away though, her new bargaining chip, “Well, Jacob was sure looking at Pastor Jerome… what was up with that?”

For a split second he hesitated. A small gap in his normally immaculate veneer that Judith couldn’t be sure if she saw before his face dropped down into a snotty look. Hand on his hip as he looked towards where the Pastor’d driven away, “Jerome has taken certain… issues with how we run things here.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” Judith looked towards the beautiful trees in the distance, the car long gone, “Like him and Joseph haven’t been clashing for as long as I’ve known both of ‘em.”

“This one is a bit more… new,” John arched his fingers and pointed them at her, “Something he didn’t know about until quite recently.”

“What?” Judith looked past time, towards the skeleton of the church, “He mad we’re actually making a real ass church? Think we’re gonna steal more of his congregation?”

John’s eyes sparkled like when he was telling a joke, deeply out of place with his next statement, “Didn’t you notice him staring at you and Faith? Come now, Judy, I know you’re not stupid. It’s rural Montana, surely you must have known SOMEONE would take issue with that.”

Slowly it dawned, Judith so used to the open nature of the Seeds that she’d forgotten what the outside world was like, “Really? He’s gonna stoop to homophobia? Times are changing, I know we’re in Montana but-”

“Oh, don’t pretend his congregation doesn’t agree with him,” John snatched back his tool/weapon and turned back towards his brothers with a flair, “Just know that here with us? Well, if anything gives you two any problems… I’m still a bit curious about the whole how-long-to-drill-through-a-skull thing.”

John whirred the drill one last time before meeting Faith in the middle, her walking back. Stooping, he whispered something to her. Eyes going from confusion to something clicking into place.

The two touched foreheads before Faith happily trotted towards Judith, closing the gap as she pulled her into a tight hug. A third kiss to her thick, black hair and a whispered promise.

“Don’t worry, we’ll never let them tear us apart.”


	5. Oh John

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Judith spends time with her favorite future brother in law and yet he's still a hyper violent murder machine lmao.

Another year, time passed so quickly in Judith’s mind as the church grew.

No, not ‘the church.’ Nobody called it that anymore. A few names had passed their many lips before one was finally settled on. One that admittedly Judith wasn’t fond of, it seemed so… ominous.

The Project At Eden’s Gate.

Why not simply Eden’s Gate? Putting “The Project” before it made it so much more sinister and certainly wasn’t helping the rest of the county from calling them a damn cult over and over.

‘Peggie’ was a term she’d had whispered as she walked past. Hush fearful tones, prying eyes, judging hearts.

Judith’d done everything in her power to spend the least amount of time she could in town but she was also the one who was always left in charge of getting supplies. It made sense, the townfolk were mildly more tolerant of Judith than the Seeds themselves.

Always looking at her with big, pitiful eyes. Seeing her as some sad little sheep, trapped with the wolves.

Led astray.

Remembering the way Pastor Jerome had looked at her made her blood boil though, that weird mix of pity and judgement.

She hated it, never did like being an object of pity.

Some would say she already was, being taken in by the Seeds like this, but she earned her keep. Judith wasn’t a charity case and they didn’t look down on her, sans for Jacob. Every day of her life she earned her keep one way or another.

Even if it was just being Faith’s little trophy wife. While the surrounding area seemed to regard them poorly they were like a beacon to the congregation. A romantic kind of martyr.

Judith was honestly kind of surprised they managed to find so many open minded people in a combination of Georgia and Montana but they sure had.

It probably helped that Judith didn’t argue much with anything Joseph asked.

No matter what, she was compliant.

Eager to please.

Even if it was insane.

And that was what had led her here, alone in the abandoned church with John hovering over her with that metal device whirring in his hand. Blinding light of the afternoon sun creeping in through the cracks and cutting sharp lines of light into the dim room. Sitting on the front pew, feeling like Joseph should be standing at the pulpit. Watching over them.

But he wasn’t. It was just her and John perched on a stool. Delight dancing behind his eyes.

“You could look a little less eager about this, you know,” Judith deflected her own discomfort as John grabbed her arm and twisted it surprisingly gently, “Keep acting like that and nobody else is going to let you carve them up like a holiday ham. Hell, don’t know why I’m letting you do it.”

Judith acutely remembered the first time she really got a look at the weird scar on John’s chest. He always fell asleep first, their movie nights almost always cut short by the man passing out on the couch. That evening he’d ended up draped like a classical painting.

Shirt pulled open enough to see the word “sloth” carved into his chest, two large gashes crossing it out.

She could see it right now, just past John’s hands fiddling with the tattoo gun, “Come now, Judy, don’t you trust me by now? Just take a little leap of faith.”

Faith. She’d been the second one to get one of these twisted tattoos. Across her shoulder blades, large and jagged. Envy.

At the time, Judith’d thought they were treating Faith rather like a guinea pig but she assured her she didn’t mind. It was just a sign of her devotion. The other brothers would get it soon too, John had simply chosen her because they were closest.

Her skepticism had been surprisingly unfounded though.

Joseph had been next.

Jacob had followed last, very evidently opposing it.

Judith wondered how long he had to be browbeaten down by Joseph to allow his smug baby brother to carve something into his skin. The only unknown one too but if Judith had to take a guess, the man had ‘wrath’ carved into his skin somewhere.

“I have a conditional and reasonable amount of trust for you,” Judith watched him trace the word ‘pride’ over her right arm, “And right now you are wandering far outside the limits of that.”

John just laughed with a gesture towards the ajar door, “I mean, you’re stronger than me. You can leave if you want.”

He was right, no restraints and all John was armed with was a tattoo gun.

She should.

She didn’t.

“Whatever,” Judith huffed, “Just… try to do it fast.”

“No, no, I’m not doing it fast,” John positioned her arm better, gun beginning to whirr, “Unfortunately I’m saddled with the sad reality of somewhat caring about you and your wellbeing so this must be slow and methodical. Don’t want shoddy handiwork on my favorite sister-in-law.”

“We’re not married yet,” Judith replied, bracing herself as the needle touched down. Jerking her free arm up with a sharp hiss as she tightly latched onto his left wrist with a vice grip.

Gritting his teeth, trying to pass it off as a smile like she wasn’t hurting him. Continuing to drag the needle painfully down her arm with his free hand, quinting with a degree of focus the man usually didn’t possess. Honestly and truly not wanting to fuck up even a bit on this particular tattoo.

He was fond of her, that was true, like a child’s favorite toy. Only Judith would play his little games with him, joke in the corners of the church when they were supposed to be listening. Both admonished by Faith afterwards.

Enforcing that attachment, John paused for just a second to give her a look with an obvious hope she’d promise to stay, “You know, if you get down on one knee… I don’t doubt for a second Faith would say yes. Is money the issue? I can buy the ring, I can even buy a custom ring for you if you want. Put something corny on the inside about ‘love’ or something.”

Judith managed to quip back even as he resume his painful work, squinting against the mind numbing burning, “I’ll propose when I’m damn well ready, don’t… we don’t have time for a wedding right now. Too busy.”

“Oh, nothing but excuses, Joseph would clear his calendar and you know it,” John chastised, scratching in the ‘E’ deep before pushing aside her tank top strap to examine his next target.

Finally letting go of John’s other arm, Judith shakily lifted her own to examine the new marking.

Pride. John had laughed when she “confessed” that beforehand without an ounce of shame on her face. Cracking a joke about them having that in common.

He’d certainly taken “pride” in his work but Judith felt her stomach violently churn at the fresh wound.

‘Don’t throw up on John, don’t throw up on John,’ she chanted in her head a few times.

John didn’t like the silence either though, Judith yelping at the sudden, sharp jab into her sternum as the second word began to be carved into her, “And me? Of course, I’d be your best man. Or Faith's. You’ll have to fight over me I suppose. Either way I’m going to be the one doing the decorations, make this place look otherworldly! You won’t have to lift a finger.”

His gesture to the church brought Judith back to reality, no longer staring dead eyed into space.

This was insane, this was truly insane. Throbbing pain racing up her arm and ripping across her chest, John not stopping for a second, uncaring and cold. He didn’t care, he didn’t like that she wasn’t talking back.

Judith could swear he was purposefully digging in harder.

Run. It’d be easy. John’s the smallest brother and despite her own stocky build Judith knew she was stronger than him. His late night drunken joke about arm wrestling her ending in slamming his hand against the table with ease. Whining that he hadn’t ‘been ready’ and that she had ‘been cheating.’

If she nailed him in the face, she could probably knock him clean out.

The needle was downright digging into her skin and Judith realized he’d paused in place, staring intently at her.

Talking, she wasn’t talking.

“Won’t be much of a fight, Faith gets whatever she wants,” Judith gasped out, pressure immediately releasing as John went back to his slow tattooing. The elation of the sickly digging gone making Judith light headed, “Just… don’t want to be a distraction right now.”

“Love is always a distraction,” John finished off the ‘H’ working quickly despite his promise not to, “But unfortunately, you’re afflicted by it.”

“Have you ever been in love?”

John paused again, this time lifting instead of digging in.

His answer is cold and dry, sadness biting at the edges, “No.”

That thousand yard stare he gets sometimes freaks Judith out, it always does. Means he’s long gone in his own thoughts. Never did understand why it stirred up fear instead of pity though as she watched him vacantly maneuver his left arm.

She wasn’t about to let that show though, again grabbing his upper arm, “I’m sure one day you’ll find someone to distract you too.”

John laughed, shaking his head.

The needle dug in again.


End file.
